Meet Me Under the Mistletoe
by Navy Babe
Summary: Mistletoe seems to be following Molly Hooper around, but she can't seem to figure out who's been putting it there.


Notes: Here's my little bit of Christmas spirit for all my fellow Sherlolly shippers! Happy Holidays, friends!

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. I actually don't even own mistletoe so...yep.

* * *

Molly hummed "Jingle Bells" softly to herself as she balanced the three coffees she'd gotten for herself, John, and Sherlock. She pushed against the door with her shoulder and grinned at John, who immediately hopped out of his seat to come and help her. Before she could move forward though, Sherlock was suddenly at her side and grabbed one of the cups. "Thank you, Molly," he said warmly, smiling charmingly at her.

Molly narrowed her eyes and was about to ask what he wanted, when suddenly John started chuckling. "When did you start putting up Christmas decorations in the lab, Molly?" He nodded up to the top of the door and Molly looked up curiously. There was a sprig of mistletoe, apparently taped to the top of the door frame.

"I didn't put that there," she said, blushing immediately as she realized that she and Sherlock were underneath it together. She quickly moved forward and set the other two cups down on the table, shaking her head slightly. "Must've been one of the lab techs or something…I didn't…I wouldn't put that up," she muttered, knowing that her cheeks must have been ridiculously flushed. She risked a glance up at Sherlock, who seemed almost put out that she'd moved away so quickly.

Molly shook her head. She was obviously overdue for a day off because this much work was clearly making her mad. Why on Earth would Sherlock be upset that they weren't trapped under the mistletoe together? She took a sip of her coffee as Sherlock moved back to his microscope and went silently back to his samples. Molly studied him curiously for a moment before turning to John with a smile on her face. "So what're you and Mary doing for the holidays, John?"

"We're having the party, obviously," he said and Molly nodded, since she already had the party penciled into her diary for the past three weeks. "And then we're heading to her brother's house for Christmas day. I invited Harry to all the festivities but she's spending the week in Wales with her new girlfriend."

"It'll never last," Sherlock muttered and John rolled his eyes. Molly stifled her laughter and took a sip of her coffee.

"What about you, Molly? Any special plans?" John asked, after shooting a dirty look at Sherlock that the other man clearly ignored.

Molly shook her head. "Nothing planned, no. My mum is on a Mediterranean cruise with her mates, my brother is away on business, and my sister is spending it with her in-laws. Just me and Toby this year." She smiled at John and shrugged. "Sometimes I like it better that way anyway. I love my family, but sometimes they're…a bit much. I like my Christmases quiet."

John chuckled. "You shouldn't have said that around him," he said with a nod towards Sherlock. "I'm sure he'll be pulling you out of bed to help him with experiments now that he knows you'll be around." Molly giggled and they both looked to Sherlock who rolled his eyes and fiddled with the knobs on the microscope.

Molly and John continued to make small talk until Sherlock gave a triumphant shout and quickly put on his coat. "I know who the murderer is, John. Text Lestrade, tell him to meet us at the bakery around the corner from the victim's flat." He wound his scarf around his neck and glanced over to Molly. He nodded slightly and Molly grinned at him, before he turned on his heel and strode out the door.

John was still getting on his coat and halfway jogged after him. "See you tomorrow night, Molly!" he said as he went out the door.

The door swished shut behind them and Molly looked up thoughtfully to the mistletoe above the door.

* * *

Molly took a deep breath as she rang the bell outside the Watsons' new flat. It wasn't that she was nervous necessarily…no, that was a lie. She was nervous. She knew that it definitely wouldn't be a repeat of the last Christmas that they were all together, but she couldn't help but have a case of pre-party jitters.

Mary opened the door and grinned brightly at her friend. "Merry Christmas, Molly!" she exclaimed, pulling her in and hugging her tightly. "Come on up!" she said, leading the way up the stairs.

Molly was a bit surprised when Sherlock was waiting at the top of the stairs. She smiled at him and set down the bag with all her gifts, before shrugging out of her coat. She felt his hands grab onto her coat as he helped her out of it and she smoothed her hands over her jumper nervously. She'd gone much simpler with her outfit this time around, just a green jumper, denim skirt, and some tights. "Merry Christmas, Molly," Sherlock murmured, draping her coat over his arm as she turned around.

"Merry Christmas, Sherlock," she replied softly.

"Hey you two! Look up!" Lestrade shouted from the couch. Molly glanced up and immediately started blushing as she saw a familiar looking sprig of mistletoe. She giggled nervously and shook her head, glancing at Sherlock who looked almost…strangely apathetic. Like it was a mask somehow.

"Oh, you must! It's tradition!" Mrs. Hudson exclaimed.

Molly bit her lip and turned to Sherlock, shrugging nervously. Stretching onto her tip toes, she gently kissed his cheek, much like he had done to her three years ago. As she stepped back, she could have sworn that she caught a glimpse of disappointment in his eyes, but it was gone just as soon as she thought she saw it.

John leaned over to Mary. "I thought you said you weren't putting up any mistletoe?" he whispered.

Mary smirked and whispered back, "I didn't. But did you notice that Sherlock was awfully quick to be the one who helped Molly with her coat?" She then moved away, offering to get drinks, leaving John to contemplate the mysterious mistletoe that seemed to be following Molly Hooper around.

The party, much to everyone's relief, went incredibly well. Molly found that her cheeks actually hurt from smiling so much and she was so relieved that everyone seemed so happy. It was wonderful to have Sherlock back in their lives, especially when he was being so…endearing. He'd been cordial to everyone, even a few of Mary and Molly's friends that had come to the party – and he had been especially attentive to his near and dear. He'd even deigned to put on antlers, at Mrs. Hudson's request.

Between the drinks and past few busy days at work, Molly felt her eyelids start to droop and she said her goodbyes to the few remaining guests. Sherlock followed her to the staircase and helped her with her coat. Molly glanced up nervously at the mistletoe above their heads and then looked to Sherlock, her gaze darting down to his lips briefly. "Uh…goodnight, Sherlock. Merry Christmas," she murmured, moving up onto her tip toes again and briefly brushing her lips across his cheek. "Call me if you get bored tomorrow," she said, rushing to get the offer out before she lost her nerve.

Sherlock's lip turned up in a small smile. "Merry Christmas, Molly."

* * *

The next morning, Molly refused to get out of bed before 9 o'clock. When she finally could no longer ignore the rumbling of her stomach, she threw on her favorite dressing gown and padded out into the kitchen. As she was waiting for the water to boil for her tea, she heard her lock being picked. For anyone else, it would probably be a distressing thought – being robbed at Christmas. But other people were not friends with Sherlock Holmes.

She heard the door swing open and she rolled her eyes, pulling another mug out from the cabinet. "You know, one of these days, you could just knock," she said without even turning around as the kettle began to whistle and she took it off the stove.

She heard him huff behind her. "Boring. You need to get new locks. Your current ones are far too easy to pick."

"Maybe you've just done it too often," she replied, adding the right amount of sugar and cream to both her and Sherlock's tea. She turned to him, holding out his mug and her eyes widened as she saw him leaning against the entrance to her kitchen, a sprig of mistletoe above his head. He reached out and took his cup from her hands, smirking as Molly's gaze darted back and forth between the mistletoe and his face. "Sherlock?"

He took a sip of the tea before replying to her. If Molly didn't know better, she would have said that he seemed nervous. "Do you have something against tradition, Molly, or are you just dead set against kissing me this Christmas? A lesser man might be insulted with how many times you've avoided carrying out this inane tradition with me."

Molly bit her lip and shook her head, setting her tea down on the counter behind her. "You're the one that's been putting up the mistletoe everywhere?"

He gave her his patented "don't be an idiot" look. "Of course I have."

"But…why?"

He rolled his eyes and Molly was tempted to smack him, but instead she just reached behind her and grabbed her cup, taking a calming sip. "Isn't it obvious, Molly? I wish to kiss you. I figured that with your love of the holidays, this would be an enjoyable way to go about it. I did not deduce your apparent disdain for this particular tradition though."

Molly couldn't help the laughter that escaped her. Sherlock looked rather ruffled by it, shooting her a startled look as she attempted to calm herself. She set her cup down and took a step forward. Sherlock eyed her warily; although, he didn't move away. Once Molly was within range, she reached out and took his cup from him, setting it down on the counter off to the side. She took another two steps forward, well within Sherlock's personal space now, and placed her hands on his chest. "Actually, I love mistletoe," she murmured.

"Then why have you been so reluctant to kiss me?" Sherlock asked. The petulant and demanding tone revealed his hidden insecurity, to anyone who actually knew Sherlock Holmes. And Molly…Molly knew him better than almost anyone. She chuckled before bringing her hands up to rest on the back of his neck, gently tugging him down so that his lips were within range of hers.

The first brush of their lips was tentative and shy. As much as Molly had dreamed about this moment, she had hardly imagined it actually happening, especially on Christmas morning, while she was wearing her snowman pajamas and before she'd brushed her teeth. At that thought, she quickly broke away from Sherlock, bringing an embarrassed hand up to cover her mouth.

But Sherlock didn't seem fazed. In fact, he seemed rather perturbed that the kiss was over. Molly grinned softly as she tried to explain herself. "Sherlock, I thought that you didn't want to kiss me. I didn't want to…make you uncomfortable or anything. I didn't know that you were the one putting up the mistletoe!"

Sherlock rolled his eyes and this time she did smack him lightly on the shoulder. He grinned at her and Molly couldn't help but giggle at the wicked twinkle in his eye. "We need to work on your deduction skills, Dr. Hooper." He then pulled her close, clearly preparing for another kiss.

Molly's hand flew up between them, pressing against his lips. Sherlock looked at her curiously, raising an eyebrow in a clear question. "Morning breath," she said, her cheeks flushing pink. Sherlock shook his head and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers and bringing it down to the side.

"I don't care," he murmured, before bending down and kissing her again. Molly had to admit that he was a rather amazing kisser, even though she insisted on keeping their kisses rather chaste, ignoring Sherlock's tongue gently licking occasionally at her lips. Finally, he huffed in frustration and released her. "Fine. If you insist upon brushing your teeth before we continue, you may do so."

Molly grinned and ran off to her bathroom, quickly but thoroughly brushing her teeth. When she came back out, Sherlock was poking around in her refrigerator. "Were you planning on fixing this bacon this morning? I haven't eaten in a day or two and bacon sounds rather appetizing." He then turned to her and gave her an almost wicked grin.

She chuckled and grabbed the packet from him, throwing it onto the counter. "I was planning on fixing myself some French toast as well, if that sounds all right," she said, smiling shyly as she cautiously wrapped her arms around his waist. In return, Sherlock wrapped his arms around her and tugged her in closer, craning his neck so that his warm breath brushed against her lips.

"Sounds delicious," he whispered, just before he descended upon her lips. This time, Molly had absolutely no objections to kissing him and so when his tongue came out to swipe against her lips, asking for entrance to her mouth she granted it. She sighed happily as she definitely confirmed that Sherlock Holmes was a fantastic kisser.

"We weren't under the mistletoe that time," she teased him as they broke apart.

Sherlock rolled his eyes theatrically and Molly couldn't help but giggle. "Do you expect me to carry around mistletoe for any time I feel the desire to kiss you? Because I refuse."

Molly grinned and tugged him down again, meeting his lips eagerly. Sherlock brought one of his hands up, tangling his fingers in her hair. She pressed against him fully, moving up onto her tiptoes to bring her closer to him.

Molly ended the kiss, giggling as Sherlock leaned forward and stole a quick kiss before Molly gently pushed on his chest. "I think that this might be the best Christmas ever, Sherlock."

He grinned at her. "I think I'm rather inclined to agree with you, Molly."


End file.
